title: Developing a simple method to process bone samples prior to DNA isolation.
abstract: Bone tissue is often used for recovering DNA samples for the purpose of human identification. However, the initial cleaning and sampling of the bone specimen is a labor-intensive and time-consuming step, which must be completed prior to isolating DNA. Thus, it is difficult to adapt the current method for automation. To address this issue, we have developed a simple processing method using a trypsin treatment prior to DNA isolation. The use of the trypsin-based procedure potentially reduces the amount of labor required by a physical method such as sanding. By incubating samples with the trypsin solution, the soft tissue and outer surface of the bone fragment samples are removed. The processed bone fragment or a portion of the fragment can then be used for DNA isolation.
authors.affiliation: Department of Science, John Jay College of Criminal Justice, The City University of New York, New York, NY 10019, USA. rli@jjay.cuny.edu
authors.forename: Richard
authors.initials: R
authors.lastname: Li
authors.forename: Sandra
authors.initials: S
authors.lastname: Chapman
authors.forename: Mary
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Thompson
authors.forename: Michal
authors.initials: M
authors.lastname: Schwartz
mesh_terms: D000818:Animals; D004247:DNA / Q000302:isolation & purification*; D005269:Femur / Q000378:metabolism*; D005554:Forensic Medicine / Q000379:methods*; D006863:Hydrogen-Ion Concentration; D008855:Microscopy, Electron, Scanning; D019188:Organ Preservation Solutions; D013048:Specimen Handling; D034421:Sus scrofa; D013696:Temperature; D014357:Trypsin / Q000737:chemistry / Q000494:pharmacology*
chemical_list: D019188:Organ Preservation Solutions; D004247:DNA; D014357:Trypsin